The dream unfolding
My Dearest Reader — hello!
We are having the most heavenly, heavy rain here in the tropics. A last wet season hurrah! My wild rainforest garden is greedily soaking it up, and so am I. This is precisely the kind of weather which puts me in the mood to write for hours and hours and hours. My third novel is still in the blissful, brewing-up stage, however, so I’ve come to my blog instead.
It’s really only been three weeks since last I wrote you, but oh— what a time it has been…
On March 30th 2021, my debut novel, Those Hamilton Sisters, was released into the world. On Publication Day we found ourselves right in the middle of a snap QLD mask mandate. I wore my sunflower yellow mask to match my beloved Cairns Birdwing butterfly brooch. (Here’s an author fashion tip for you: always have a gorgeous face mask on hand, because you never know when the pesky pandemic is going to intervene, again.)
After dropping my tremendously excited children off at school, I popped in to the lovely folks at Cairns Books to see my first novel on the shelves in a REAL ACTUAL BOOKSTORE…
The beautiful team at Echo Publishing sent me a huge, beaming bouquet of blooms to celebrate publication, with a card I will forever treasure.
{sigh}
In fact, I have pinned my publisher’s card up onto our family Ribbon Board, so that among the fluttering Sports Day ribbons of blue, red and green, my race-run will be remembered too.
On Publication Day, I was absolutely inundated by messages, phone calls, social media posts, stories and tags from lovely people all over Australia. My phone didn’t seem to stop buzzing and beeping the entire day (or, in fact, the whole week after). I was rather overwhelmed by the love and excitement sent my way by so many. Lost count of the number of times I cried at pictures of my book in stores, or the hands of readers.
I had dreamed my dream for so long, had imagined in richest detail the joy I would feel to see my novel out in the world, and yet had somehow never actually paused to imagine the joy others would feel for me, and with me. That part has, thus far, been the most astonishing — just how many generous, big-hearted people I have among my family & friends, and social media circles.
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The last weeks since publication have been wonderfully busy. It all coincided with the start of school holidays, so I’ve had all four children home with me. That didn't leave much time for sitting around, mooning over pics of my novel in stores Australia-wide, or gorgeous messages from avid readers.
Instead, we spent the holidays exploring our magnificent region….
It was a staycation jam-packed with joy: Easter egg hunts poolside in Palm Cove; hotel breakfasts in masks and cocktails in beach shacks; long bike rides by the creek; a trip up the mountain to the sunflower farm; an incredible cassowary safari; waterfall adventures and secret creek treks; sipping pink gin while floating in a garden pool; barefoot sunrise beach runs; board games running past midnight; beachside boutique shopping; rock sliding at the cascades; and, sunset picnics on the beach, by the lagoon, and down in the jungle.
In the midst of so much magic, I was so lucky (and most ‘nervicited’) to do my very first author events! I zoomed into a library in Busselton, WA — a fabulous group, I had such fun! — and also did a LIVE event with Better Reading over on Facebook.
Over the Easter holidays, I indulged myself, taking photographs of Those Hamilton Sisters in the very places where I had spent so much time dreaming up the story. (Oh hey there, magical waterfall, here’s the book you inspired.) Yes, my novel accompanied me to all the beautiful places…
And I hope it’s been accompanying you to majestic locations over these Easter holidays, too. I’ve already seen so many fab pictures of Those Hamilton Sisters in cosy beds, on beaches and back decks, and around campfires. You are more than welcome to tag me in pictures on social media — using #averilkenny #thosehamiltonsistersinthewild or #thosehamiltonsisters will help me find your pics. x
I’m still waiting for my first ‘in the wild’ sighting of my novel being read by a stranger…unaware the wordsmith is watching. (May actually need smelling salts for THAT moment.)
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Well, it’s still raining here, but I have run out of words — for now.
I’ll leave you with this last one…thank you.
Warmest,
xx Averil
PS - If you’ve been trying to get your hands on a copy, you can find links to buy, on my page here.